No prior Torah study experience needed; all are welcome!
The portion is Vayishlach, Genesis 32:4-36:43. Here are some of the ideas we’ll look at with Rabbi Lenore Bohm:
- Jacob prepares to meet Esau in three ways. First, he prays.Then he selects gifts to send to his brother. Finally, he secludes himself. Do you think these are useful preparations? How do you prepare for a difficult encounter?
- In 32:25, it says Jacob was “alone.” The Hebrew word,“l’vado,” also carries the connotation of “lonely.” As part of the second creation story in Genesis 2, God says (thinks?), “It is not good for Adam to be alone (“l’vado”). The Torah favors relationships and community, not solitude and independence. Is there a role for both in our lives?
- Jacob emerges wounded from his nocturnal struggle (32:32),“He was limping on account of his thigh.”Does this impairment humble him?Later, Jacob tells Esau that the children and animals need to journey at a slower pace, and that he, Jacob, would continue with them. Was Jacob trying to camouflage his disability, his need to walk at a slower pace from his brother because he did not want to reveal weakness?When you have revealed weaknesses to someone, how have they responded?
